Screen Name

The email address/password you submitted is wrong or could not be found. Please try again. If you are not a member of the FIFA.com Club, please register first.

The email address/password you submitted is wrong or could not be found. Please try again. If you are not a member of the FIFA.com Club, please register first.

This Facebook account is already present

Your Club account has been locked due to a breach of our Terms of Service. Please set up a new account in line with the Club rules. Review the Club Rules. Alternatively, you can email us by completing our contact form.

Please enter a valid email address

The email address/password you submitted is wrong or could not be found. Please try again. If you are not a member of the FIFA.com Club, please register first.

Overview

Cerezo, Gamba anticipating derby

Cerezo Osaka manager Levir Culpi admitted his men will have to keep an eye on Adriano when they come up against their former striker in the last 16 of the AFC Champions League after his switch to city rivals Gamba Osaka.

"We know his play, with speed and finishing skills, and we do know we need to take care of him," said Culpi, who will be without suspended defender Teruyuki Moniwa for the derby at Expo '70 Stadium. "But that can also apply to Gamba as we too have good attackers.

"If we can win tomorrow, that will be a historic game for us. That has added further motivation to us to train in preparation for this game. It's the decider and we want to put all we have worked on into this game."

Gamba coach Akira Nishino believes his side's vast continental experience - they won the competition in 2008 - can give them the edge over their neighbours. "We have the difference in experience to Cerezo. We have got through situations of this kind many times in the ACL. We have the pride and self-confidence from that, too," he said.

"It's a rarity to have a derby in the ACL and I am pleased that we can have a game like this in Osaka and by winning this game, we would like to achieve our goal. We know each other very well. They have destructive power when they play at their own tempo. They have good technical and tactical skills, too."

Jeonbuk worried over Lee Dong-GookJeonbuk manager Choi Kang-hee admitted he is sweating over the fitness of former Middlesbrough striker Lee Dong-Gook when the K-League leaders host Tianjin Teda at Jeonju World Cup Stadium. "The appearance of Lee Dong-Gook is the most important point for us and I have been thinking about this since the Pohang game last week," he said.

It's a rarity to have a derby in the ACL and I am pleased that we can have a game like this in Osaka.

Akira Nishino, Gamba coach

"Lee played 30 minutes against Gangwon last weekend. He isn't 100 per cent but after the game, he had no problems. I need to decide after today's training."

Yang Qipeng, Bai Yuefeng, Olguin Esteban, Chen Tao and Marko Zoric are all suspended for Tianjin, but coach Arie Haan wants to continue China's interest in this year's tournament. "We are the only team left out of the four Chinese teams that started," said the Dutchman.

"I am very proud of that achievement but we want to keep going in the competition. We are missing some players but we will do our best to get the right result. It is going to be very difficult for us. Jeonbuk are a strong team."

Sepahan eye doubleSepahan boss Amir Ghalenoei, meanwhile, has turned his attention to continental success after clinching the domestic title when they host Bunyodkor at the Foolad Shahr. "Our objectives are winning the AFC Champions league after becoming champions of the Iran Pro League," Ghalenoei said.

"We achieved one of our targets in the group stage which was first position and now as we are hosting the Uzbek team in the knockout round, we want to take advantage of this great chance to beat them. Hopefully we won't have any more injured players except for Ahmad Jamshidian."

Bunyodkor manager Mirjalal Kasimov called for a focused performance from his players. "We have analysed Sepahan so that we are familiar with their strong and weak points. Sepahan have very good players so they will make the game hard for us but I am sure we will see a beautiful match tomorrow," he said.

"They have a disciplined defensive line and breaching it will be difficult. They have some key players whom we know well. Only one mistake would be enough to end our life at this stage."

Finally, Al Ittihad welcome Al Hilal to Prince Abdullah Al Faisal Stadium keen to exact a measure of revenge after losing out on the Saudi League title to their Riyadh rivals.